Furukawa

"Hello, my name is Ryosuke!"

"Uchiha Qian."

Looking at Ryosuke, who had come over to his desk, Qian answered briefly.

After saying that, he looked at the other person.

Mizutani Shizuko looked a little embarrassed under his gaze. She shrank her neck and said in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, "My name is Mizutani Shizuko."

After the three exchanged names, they sat together following some negotiation from Ryosuke.

For the rest of the time, Ryosuke did all the talking. Mizutani Shizuko answered now and then, while Qian basically stayed silent.

From their conversation, Qian learned that Ryosuke's parents were both Chunin, and both were technical specialists. One worked in codebreaking, while the other was a ninja in the Barrier Team.

Only...

Qian did not understand how two people like that had produced such a chatterbox like Ryosuke.

Had he been holding it in at home?

Just as Qian was silently grumbling to himself, Ryosuke's voice suddenly interrupted him.

"Qian, you still haven't told us about your parents."

"They sacrificed themselves."

Qian answered calmly.

Hearing this, Ryosuke froze slightly, then scratched his head awkwardly and said, "Um... sorry, Qian. I didn't know."

"It's fine. It's all in the past."

Qian replied calmly again.

Even so, Ryosuke still shut his mouth in embarrassment.

At the side, Mizutani Shizuko seemed to want to say something, but after mustering her courage several times, she still could not bring herself to speak.

Seeing this, Qian did not take the initiative to ask.

It would be nothing more than a few words of comfort. His predecessor might have needed them, but he did not.

Time passed, second by second.

About half an hour later.

More than ten Jonin arrived in the classroom.

Er...

They were not all true Jonin. More than half of them were Special Jonin.

So-called Special Jonin were Jonin whose strength did not reach the Jonin level, but who possessed unique talents in certain areas.

These people were Jonin in name, but in reality, they were only ninjas somewhere between Chunin and Jonin.

It made sense when one thought about it. Among the students of their year, the potential of the vast majority could be seen at a glance. They were simply not worth wasting too much Jonin energy on.

Now was wartime. As the pillars of the village, Jonin-level combat power was lacking everywhere. Although cultivating reserve forces was also important, it could not outweigh the situation on the front lines.

"Class 11, stand up."

On the podium, a Special Jonin spoke.

Immediately, the three students named Nakajima Sota, Hanako, and Fei Long stood up.

After confirming there were no problems, that Special Jonin led them away.

Then came Class 12, Class 13...

Soon, it was Qian's Class 17's turn.

"Uchiha Qian? Mizutani Shizuko? Ryosuke?"

On the podium, a middle-aged ninja with a scar on his face stared at Qian and the other two as he spoke.

"That's us, teacher!"

The middle-aged ninja flipped through the file in his hand, nodded, and said, "Good. You three, come with me."

After saying that, he left the classroom.

Qian and the others immediately followed.

Ten-odd minutes later, the group arrived at Training Ground Ten.

This place was remote. Under normal circumstances, coming here from the village center would take half an hour, but now they had used only half that time.

As a result, aside from Qian, both Ryosuke and Mizutani Shizuko were utterly exhausted.

Mizutani Shizuko in particular. She was a girl to begin with, and her stamina was on the weaker side. Running here in such a short time had truly not been easy.

Even so, Qian had not thought of giving her a hand, because he was not sure whether this was a test from the Jonin ahead of them.

And based on his observation, Mizutani Shizuko most likely could hold on, so he simply let things take their course.

"All right, that's far enough."

When they reached the center of the training ground, the middle-aged jonin finally stopped.

Seeing that, Qian and the others stopped one after another as well.

The middle-aged jonin's gaze swept over the three of them, lingering on Qian for a while before he said, "The fact that you were able to keep up with me means you've passed the first stage of the test."

"A test?"

Mizutani Shizuko was panting heavily, looking puzzled.

"That's right. A test."

The middle-aged jonin nodded and said, "On the battlefield, no matter what type of ninja you are, if your stamina isn't up to standard, your chances of dying are the highest."

At that, Mizutani Shizuko froze, her face gradually turning deathly pale.

She truly had not expected that on her very first day as a ninja, she would hear such a serious topic as death in battle.

Thinking of sacrifice, Mizutani Shizuko secretly glanced at Qian and thought, I wonder how Qian-kun felt when he heard the news that his parents had died. He must have been heartbroken!

Qian keenly noticed her little movement, but he said nothing.

The middle-aged ninja moved past the topic and continued, "All right, rest for a bit first."

At that, Ryosuke and Mizutani Shizuko sat down on the ground together, calming their breathing. Only Qian stood to one side, unmoving.

This amount of exercise was nothing to him at all.

The middle-aged ninja glanced at Qian and did not say much. He only said, "While you're resting, let's get to know one another."

"Sure, Teacher. We still don't know your name."

Ryosuke, who had not managed to get a word in earlier, immediately spoke up.

Hearing that, the middle-aged ninja nodded and introduced himself. "My name is Furukawa. As you can see, I'm a jonin. I'm thirty-seven this year. I like playing shogi, and I dislike people who don't follow the rules."

With that, he looked at Ryosuke and said, "You go first. Tell us your name and age, what you like and dislike, and what your dream is."

"Yes, Teacher Furukawa."

After answering, Ryosuke introduced himself. "My name is Ryosuke. I'm ten years old. I like making friends, and I hate any food that has cilantro in it. My dream is to become Hokage."

Hokage? Another guy brainwashed by the Will of Fire.

Qian sighed inwardly.

Furukawa merely nodded expressionlessly, then looked at Mizutani Shizuko and said, "What about you?"

Mizutani Shizuko had rested for a while, and at last she no longer gasped when she spoke.

She said, "My name is Mizutani Shizuko. I'll be ten after the new year. I like flower arranging, and I dislike, uh..."

Mizutani Shizuko thought for a moment, then shook her head and said, "I don't think there's anything I particularly hate. As for my dream..."

She looked around at the four people present, mustered her courage, and said, "My dream is to become a Medical Ninja like Lady Tsunade."

Tsunade?

Qian glanced at Mizutani Shizuko and thought, Tsunade really is famous. No wonder she could still become the Fifth Hokage after being away from the village for so long.

As he was thinking, Furukawa turned his gaze to him and said, "Your turn, Qian."

"Mm."

Qian nodded and said, "My name is Uchiha Qian. I'm ten years old. I like training, and I dislike trouble. My dream..."

At this point, Qian suddenly stopped.

There was no other reason. He had realized that he seemed to have never considered the future all that far ahead, let alone anything like a dream.

When he had first transmigrated, he had worried that his identity as an outsider would be exposed, so he had trained desperately.

After he had fully absorbed his predecessor's experience and memories, he had become worried about surviving the Great Ninja War, so he had continued to train just as hard.

The farthest ahead he had ever thought was how to get through the disaster of the clan's massacre. As for the future and such, it seemed he had never considered it at all.

"Qian-kun?"

Seeing Qian suddenly fall silent, Mizutani Shizuko beside him poked his arm and called softly, "What's wrong?"